smart power

As we saw yesterday [www.sundance.tv], you can save mega-bucks with some simple behavior changes that benefit the planet, too; using carpooling to illustrate this point is just one of many examples. Changing behaviors is great, but can ultimately be pretty difficult, especially quickly. While TreeHugger doesn’t advocate for shopping our way to sustainability, we do…

It’s got lots of different names: phantom load; vampire power; idle current; wall wart; but all euphemisms for the way that devices use and waste electricity when they aren’t even turned on. That little red light on your TV, telling you it’s ready when you are? That’s one. Your cell phone charger? Yep. Even the…